Monday, June 18, 2012

Twenty-four strikeouts in a nine-inning game was the remarkable record of Dick Redding of a New York semi-professional team Monday. His opponents mostly were players from the United States league. Redding allowed three hits and issued two passes, but had two strikes on each of these five batters.

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A move is underway, it is said, to "cut the alleged U.S. league to four clubs." Inasmuch as there are but two teams in the so-called circuit at present, it is not quite plain how the "cut" will be accomplished, unless each of the present outfits is easily divided.

ryan braun hit two homers against the twins on saturday and had hit a home the previous game. after the game the brewers manager was asked if he was surprised that teams continue to pitch to braun given the state of the brewers lineup. here is his response:

No. Not at all. I think the guys that have been behind him are good. There's no way I'm going to pitch around Ryan all the time to get to Ramirez. No way. You could use that argument last year with Prince. Really, Casey had an off year last year and they still pitched to Prince. I know that everybody thinks it's easy to pitch around people; it is not easy to pitch around people. Every time you do it, you worry about that next guy coming up there, and everytime you put people on base they've got a chance to score, and you turn the lineup over faster. It's not an automatic

Up at THT, I have a new article up: The state of the AL Central, going over each team. (Fun fact: since April 24, the Royals have the best record in the division).

Also, I got a historical item noting that today is the 40th anniversary of Mustache Day. It's also the anniversary of that famous Billy Martin-Reggie Jackson confrontation on national TV, Don Suttton's 300th win, Dodgers sign Pedro Martinez, Joe Medwick gets beaned, the Red Sox score 17 in one inning, and the White Sox blow a 12-run lead.

A move is underway, it is said, to "cut the alleged U.S. league to four clubs." Inasmuch as there are but two teams in the so-called circuit at present, it is not quite plain how the "cut" will be accomplished, unless each of the present outfits is easily divided.

I think whoever wrote these US league snippets would fit in well at BBTF. He clearly takes his haterade with ice, and often.

Game(s) of the day (yesterday): Royals 5, Cardinals 3 (15); Twins 5, Brewers 4 (15). I'm only going to recap the first of the two, but it's worth at least posting the link to the second, because it's the fifth-best game of the year so far. Which tells you how good a game has to be to beat it.

The scoring didn't open until the second, but the first inning was considerably more fateful. Alex Gordon drew a leadoff walk from St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright in the top of the inning, but didn't score; in the bottom, Carlos Beltran singled with one out. After that play, Royals second baseman Chris Getz was removed from the game with an injury, and Yuniesky Betancourt took over the spot.

In the second, Kansas City started the inning with consecutive singles from Mike Moustakas, Alcides Escobar, and Humberto Quintero, scoring one run and putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Jarrod Dyson grounded back to the mound, and Escobar was caught in a rundown between third and home; he was tagged out, but the runners advanced to second and third behind him. Unfortunately for the Royals, the task of bringing the runner home from third fell to starting pitcher Luis Mendoza, who struck out; Gordon then grounded out to end the inning.

Returning to his primary function, Mendoza retired the Cards in order in both the second and third innings; Wainwright did the same to the Royals in the third and fourth. St. Louis put a pair of runners on in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of a single by Matt Holliday and a walk to Allen Craig, but left them on the corners at the end of the inning. Wainwright worked around a walk to Gordon in the top of the fifth, and in the bottom half, the Cards tried again. They started the inning with a single by Tyler Greene and a double by Todd Cruz; the opportunity was wasted when they called for a squeeze with Wainwright at the plate, and Greene was caught between third and home when the Cardinal starter was presented with an un-buntable pitch (courtesy of the MLB game recap). Wainwright then struck out, and Daniel Descalso lined out to end the inning.

The Royals put two runners on base in the sixth, but Wainwright ended the inning by prompting Escobar to hit into a double play. After Beltran led off the bottom half with a groundout, Holliday and Craig decided they'd rather not count on their teammates to drive them in this time, instead hitting back-to-back homers to put the Cards on top 2-1. Mendoza's day ended when he was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh, and Wainwright left the same way in the bottom of the inning; both pinch hitters were retired, and neither team scored. Mitchell Boggs worked a perfect eighth for the Cardinals; Jose Mijares came in to pitch the bottom of the inning and gave up a leadoff double to Descalso. After Descalso moved to third when Beltran struck out (the catcher had to throw to first to complete the out), Holliday was intentionally walked and removed for a pinch runner (the game recap says he was injured; how he injured himself while being IBB'd, I'm not sure). Craig then hit into a double play to end the inning.

That brought on closer Jason Motte for the ninth. He fanned Moustakas on four pitches, then Escobar on three. Quintero was lifted for pinch hitter Billy Butler, who quickly went down 0-2... and then hit a home run to tie the game. Greg Holland worked around a single by Adron Chambers to throw a scoreless ninth and send the game to extras. Motte issued a walk to Gordon, but kept KC off the board in the tenth, and Tim Collins was perfect in the bottom of the inning. The eleventh saw Victor Marte take the mound for the Cards; he quickly gave up a pair of singles to Jeff Francoeur and Moustakas. Escobar grounded into a fielder's choice at home, and Collins, who was forced to hit for himself because the Royals had already exhausted their bench (thanks to the 13-man pitching staff) bunted into a force at third. Marte was then pulled for Mark Rzepczynski, who walked Dyson to load the bases before retiring Brayan Pena to end the inning.

Collins was perfect again in the eleventh, and the Cards inserted Fernando Salas to pitch the twelfth (why they burned Rzepczynski for one out at this point in the game, I don't know). Salas walked Gordon, but got Betancourt to hit into a double play. Eric Hosmer then singled, stole second and took third on a throwing error by the Cardinal catcher (can you tell that it was Yadier Molina's day off?) Francoeur drew a walk, and after the fans who were still in attendance were treated for mass cardiac arrest, Moustakas ended the inning by grounding out. Collins threw his third consecutive perfect frame in the twelfth, and then was lifted for pinch-hitter Bruce Chen with one out in the thirteenth. Chen, of course, singled, but was left on.

With Collins finally out of the game in favor of Nathan Adcock, the Cardinals finally put another runner on base, as Shane Robinson led off the home half of the thirteenth with a single. Pinch hitter Kyle Lohse then successfully executed a sac bunt (take that, Tim Collins), and Beltran was intentionally walked behind the lead runner. That brought Rafael Furcal to the plate in Holliday's old spot (the Cards had some truly impressive lineup machinations during this game - the pitcher's spot was in 4 different places), and he grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Eduardo Sanchez came on to pitch for St. Louis in the fourteenth. He immediately walked Gordon, which brought Betancourt to the plate. To this point in the game, Yuni was 0/5 with a GDP. This time, however, he laced a go-ahead double to left. Hosmer flied out and Francoeur struck out; Sanchez then intentionally passed back-to-back Royals to load the bases. Normally, I'd hate this strategy, but since it brought Adcock, an AL relief pitcher, to the plate, it makes more sense than usual. Adcock struck out on three pitches, sending the game to the bottom of the fourteenth with Kansas City up by one. Jonathan Broxton entered to nail it down. He walked Craig, but got David Freese to fly out. Chambers then singled up the middle, moving Craig to third, but Greene flied out at an insufficient depth to bring the run home. The Cards then sent up their last position player, Molina, to hit for his own backup. On a 2-1 count, he singled home the tying run. Robinson struck out to leave the potential winning run at second.

Sanchez stayed in for the fifteenth. Dyson started the inning with a bunt single, moved to second on a sacrifice, and stayed there when Gordon flied out. That brought Betancourt back to the plate, and since one run hadn't been enough in the last inning, he provided two, courtesy of a home run. Broxton took advantage of his second chance, working a tame 1-2-3 bottom of the fifteenth (helped by the fact that St. Louis's best pinch hitting option to lead off the inning was Joe Kelly, a pitcher who was making his fourth career plate appearance).

What a game. Plenty of scoring opportunities early and late, a busted squeeze play, back-to-back homers to take a lead, a game-tying homer with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the ninth, 14 runners left on base in extra innings, a game-tying rally in the bottom of the fourteenth, and a final go-ahead homer with two outs in the fifteenth. (Also, there was a team record tied in this game. The events that composed that record are all mentioned in the recap, but not particularly highlighted. Can anyone find it?)

Given the ingredients, it shouldn't come as a huge shock that this grades out as the best game of the year so far - it's actually the highest-scoring game in my database to date, although I'm aware of at least one game from later in 2011 that will beat it. Still, it's got a terrific shot at the crown for this year, and will almost certainly be in the top 5.

He walked Craig, but got David Freese to fly out. Chambers then singled up the middle, moving Craig to third, but Greene flied out at an insufficient depth to bring the run home

Actually that fly probably could have scored Craig from third but he had brain locked and failed to tag up on the play. He was the most relieved person in the place when Molina came through with the base hit a couple of minutes later.

The real puzzler, to me anyway, was why Chambers didn't try to steal second base at some point in this sequence and get the winning run into scoring position. Broxton is pretty deliberate to the plate and Pena has had trouble all year throwing runners out trying to steal. I don't know that Chambers would have been able to score from second on Molina's hit but it would have been worth a try.

Game of the day (last year): Angels 4, Mets 3. Chris Capuano worked a perfect first for the Mets, and Joel Pineiro matched him for the Angels. In the second, Howie Kendrick doubled with one out, moved to third on a flyout, and scored when Peter Bourjos reached on an error to put the Angels ahead, but New York quickly evened the score when Daniel Murphy led off with a triple and scored on Angel Pagan's single. The excitement didn't end there; Jason Bay hit a grounder to short that could have been a double play, but Kendrick threw away the relay. Pagan was forced out, but Bay ended the play at second. He didn't advance from there, however, and the tie was maintained... at least until the top of the third. Maicer Izturis led off with a single, moved up on a sac bunt, took third on a hit by Torii Hunter, and scored on Vernon Wells's single. Kendrick came up with runners on the corners and a chance to break the game open, but ended the inning by hitting into a double play. The Mets came back once more in the bottom half, when Josh Turner walked, moved to second on Carlos Beltran's single, and scored on Pagan's second RBI hit in two innings.

The next two innings were marginally calmer. Capuano worked around a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth; Pineiro allowed the first two Mets to reach in the home half on a double and an HBP, but escaped the jam on a pair of whiffs sandwiched around a forceout. The fifth passed with only a walk and a steal in the bottom half, bringing Capuano back on to pitch the top of the sixth. Hunter led off with a single, but Wells struck out, and Hunter was then caught stealing second with Kendrick at the plate. Having apparently worked out of a minor jam, Capuano then created a major one, yielding consecutive singles to Kendrick and Mark Trumbo, followed by an RBI double to Bourjos. An intentional walk to Jeff Mathis brought the pitcher's spot up, and Pineiro was oddly allowed to hit for himself with the bases loaded. Predictably, he struck out. Pineiro did work a scoreless sixth, giving up only a single to pinch-hitter Lucas Duda. Bobby Parnell entered for the Mets in the seventh, and quickly allowed the Angels to double their lead, thanks to an Izturis double and a Hunter single.

The Mets went in order in the seventh, with Pineiro being pulled mid-inning; Parnell set the Angels down consecutively in the eighth as well. Scott Downs entered for LA in the bottom of the inning, and after retiring Pagan, gave up a single to Jason Bay and an RBI double to Ronny Paulino. A groundout moved pinch runner Jason Pridie to third, but pinch hitter Scott Hairston struck out to leave the tying run 90 feet away. Manny Acosta worked a flawless ninth for New York, leaving them with one more chance to make up the one-run deficit against closer Jordan Walden.

It started well, as Jose Reyes drew a walk and stole second. Turner walked behind him, putting the winning run on base with nobody out and bringing the Mets' win expectancy to an even 50%. But the situation devolved quickly from there, as Walden sequentially struck out Beltran, Murhpy, and Pagan on a total of 13 pitches to end the game.

Back-and-forth early, multiple serious threats late when down a run. A fine game overall, even if I do feel like I should be typing this recap in a lighter font because it pales in comparison to yesterday's game.

The real puzzler, to me anyway, was why Chambers didn't try to steal second base at some point in this sequence and get the winning run into scoring position. Broxton is pretty deliberate to the plate and Pena has had trouble all year throwing runners out trying to steal. I don't know that Chambers would have been able to score from second on Molina's hit but it would have been worth a try.

Maybe he could've moved to third on the flyout, had Craig tagged, and scored from there.

On the other hand, if Chambers is on second, they might walk Molina and pitch to Shane Robinson, who's a slightly less imposing hitter.

OK, carrying on last week's theme of things that people are kind of on pace to do this year... Ryan Braun is currently posting a higher OPS+ than he had in last year's MVP season. Since the Brewers are bad this year, he's got virtually no chance of repeating. There have been 19 times since the advent of the modern MVP vote in 1931 that a player has won an MVP, then had a better year the next season and not repeated (with "better year" being measured for this purpose by WAR for pitchers and oWAR for position players). Three of them I'll leave out for asterisk-type reasons: Mike Schmidt's 1982 oWAR was higher than in 1981 by all of .1, due to the strike, and Chuck Klein (1932-33) and Don Mattingly (1985-86) had better years after their MVP seasons, but were voted most valuable position player in those years by the writers, finishing second to a pitcher.

Who are the other 16 players to improve on the work in their MVP season and not repeat?

(Hint-like substances: It's happened in both leagues in the same year twice, and one player has done it twice, so there are only 15 distinct players on the list.)

I mention this because they do something really cool with their HoF - they have two levels of inductees. In addition to their "standard" Hall of Famers, they also have something called "Legend Status", which is bestowed annually to one player who's already been inducted.

Your description of the sets of players is good - I would add in players whose teams became far worse around them and missed the playoffs (which captures Larkin '96 and Ripken '84, among others), but that could be included among one or more of the categories you already listed.

Maris won the '60 MVP as well. Mantle in 1957 would have been a perfect fit for the list - WAR prefers it to his '56 Triple Crown season, despite it appearing quite a bit less impressive superficially. But he won the MVP that year. The other chance he had was after '62, but he was hurt for most of '63.

Gibson and/or McLain, 1968 - 69. I was thinking they were both very good that follow-up year but, of course, looked far worse in raw stats because of the higher offense. Assuming I'm remembering correctly that they were both MVPs in '68.

It was both - that is, he won the MVP in '55 and was better in '56, losing to Mantle's Triple Crown. Berra is actually the double representative, as he was also better in '52 than in his '51 MVP season. (In fact, you can argue that Yogi's three MVP years were his worst from 1950-56.)

And I'm assuming guys like Cobb, Ruth, Gehrig, etc...who were competing for awards where repeats were not permitted are not being counted here.

Correct - modern rules only, 1931-present.

Fox was better in '57 than in '59, but worse in '60. And 104 steals are worth quite a bit when you're only caught 13 times - Wills had a substantially higher OPS+ in '63 than in '62, but his basestealing dropped off to 40/19 and he missed almost 30 games.

I didn't know Robinson Cano's father played in the major leagues either, but there's probably a pretty good chance if you're from San Pedro de Macoris. Jose Cano's only major league win was a complete game in his last MLB appearance, which I would guess is rare. His only loss was in his first appearance, a month earlier, against Greg Maddux.

Steve Dillard's son is in the majors (and has been for a while) ... time for my annual Steve Dillard tribute.

From Aug 3-17, 1979, Steve Dillard hit 471/517/843. 24 for 51 with 5 HR, 6 BB, 17 R and 16 RBI. He even tossed in two RoE and a SF.

Now, Dillard was a career 243/295/343 hitter (73 OPS+) in 1115 PA. If you take out that 2 week period, he hit 231/278/316. Those two weeks added 44 points to his career OPS and 12 points to his OPS+. More importantly, they guaranteed I would remember him for the rest of my life.